The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #60703   Message #973551
Posted By: GUEST,Jim Dixon
27-Jun-03 - 06:28 PM
Thread Name: BS: Commonly misspelled/mispronounced words
Subject: RE: BS: Commonly misspelled/mispronounced words
Restaurant menus are a common source of misspellings. I have seen omlet and omlette countless times. My local college grille serves Monte Crisco sandwiches. They also have a weird way of spelling focaccia but I can't remember it.

Advertising copywriters feel free to abuse the language. Usually, they know exactly what they're doing, but they will gladly break any grammar or spelling rule if they think the resulting text will appeal to their target audience.

Case in point: the lowly word 'n'. I mean the contracted form of and as in rock 'n' roll. Copywriters love this word because it has a nice slangy informal feel to it. It conveys that their product is effortless to use, just like grammar and orthography. They have invented brand names like Clairol Nice 'n Easy® haircolor (spelling haircolor as one word) or SPRAY 'n WASH® laundry stain remover. Once you start noticing 'n', you see it everywhere.

The consensus among advertisers is that one apostrophe is sufficient; two is too much effort. Trouble is, they can't agree on whether the apostrophe should go before or after the n.

I wish I could think of more examples. I know they're out there, but Google ignores punctuation, apparently.